In a large bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix in the whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and toasted pecans until crumbly. Scoop mixture into a 9" x 13" baking dish coated with nonstick spray. Pat the mixture down to form an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes - remove and reduce oven temperature to 325.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth and well blended. Mix in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup flour, lemon juice and zest.

Pour mixture over the baked crust. Bake until set and very lightly browned around the edges - about 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Place in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours. Dust with confectioners' sugar on top before cutting into bars.

I have been trying all of your recipes one by one and they are all great. So, I would like to thank you here for sharing them. Also, I have a question about the recipe above: Can I substitute "8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened" with olive oil?

Thank you for the recipe. My bars got high praise. I followed your instructions to the 't', and the only thing I could see to change next time is to add just a smidge more butter as my crust was a bit crumbly. The pecans are great in the crust.Also, if someone has an aversion to using butter I would think coconut oil would make an excellent (healthy) substitute.